Davide Maritan and Roberto Panizzolo
Although important concepts and steps for strategic planning have been identified, there are few practical, systematic and powerful methodologies and tools to support an…
Abstract
Purpose
Although important concepts and steps for strategic planning have been identified, there are few practical, systematic and powerful methodologies and tools to support an integrated and well‐managed process. This paper aims at describing in details how the quality function deployment (QFD) methodology can be applied in order to define the strategic priorities of a firm, to establish clear customer needs/expectations and to draw up a range of product and service characteristics in order to enhance customer satisfaction and thus competitive advantage.
Design/methodology/approach
From a methodological point of view, an exploratory case study has been taken with multiple level of analysis and multiple data collection methods. The case study refers to a small manufacturing firm operating in Italy which designs and sells geothermal heat pump systems.
Findings
The proposed methodology provides an excellent mechanism for integrating the important concepts and linking major steps of strategic planning and offers a rigorous methodology for identifying business priorities and developing order winning criteria.
Originality/value
In the last two decades many studies have appeared in the literature regarding the use of QFD procedure in supporting different types of planning. The main problem with these studies is that few explain the details of the process and even fewer present in‐depth case studies to demonstrate the process. Given the intrinsic characteristics of the case study, it is the authors' opinion that the analysis can give relevant indications about the feasibility and general applicability of the proposed methodology.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to detail how the quality function deployment (QFD) methodology can help companies identify their strategic priorities and achieve customer…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to detail how the quality function deployment (QFD) methodology can help companies identify their strategic priorities and achieve customer satisfaction and increased competitive advantage.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper outlines a case study example of the use of the QFD methodology. It looks at how well it was able to achieve its objectives.
Findings
Meeting customer expectations and creating customer satisfaction has become the Holy Grail for companies wishing to improve their competitiveness and profitability. Success, however, for many companies remains illusive. Their ability to align and integrate customer satisfaction with their overall strategic direction has proved to be more difficult that they thought. Their repeated desire to put the customer first is severely hampered by the lack of effective methodologies and tools to support the creation of an integrated process. Companies need a mechanism for aligning important concepts – a tool that will outline the important steps that they need to implement in order to successfully identify business priorities. One company, Geotherm Sri, a firm producing geothermal heat pumps, adopted QFD to help them with their strategic planning and achieve customer satisfaction. How well did QFD meet the challenge?
Practical implications
The paper provides a step‐by‐step guide of how to apply the QFD methodology to the task of defining business priorities.
Social implications
The paper improves corporate strategic decision making and allows for a more in‐depth analysis of customer expectations/needs.
Originality/value
The paper identifies the various steps involved in applying the QFD. It adopts a case study example that will help company strategic decision makers in their quest to determine their business priorities.